Traditional-style auctions are ignoring a significant market—the physically remote purchasers who will purchase an item without being physically present to kick the tires, feel the smoothness of a vase, hear the roar of a diesel engine or authenticate an ancient item.
Currently, there are two types of remote auction systems. The first type of remote auction system has no “live” auctioneer and the entire bidding audience must be connected to the network or system. In this case, the network computer or server acts as the auctioneer, accepting bid values from the connected audience with associated time stamps based upon bid receipt by the server. Each bid is either accepted or rejected by the server; the bidder (sometimes the entire audience) is notified of its acceptance or rejection. All of the items for sale in this type of auction are generally available for the entire duration of the auction and each item has a specified end time after which no bids will be accepted.
The second type of remote auction system is much like the first; however, it may or may not have a “live” auctioneer. The main difference from the first type of remote auction system is that each item for sale is not available at the same time; rather, the auction moves from item to item and depending upon the bidding activity and upon either the server's or “live” auctioneer's choice, the item is sold and the event moves on to the next item on the list.
A disadvantage of remote auctioning systems is that the participating bidders are not engrained into the excitement and energy of the live auction. From the perspective of an auction company, this can have a significant impact on the success, or the earnings, of the auction company. Many books have been written about the psychology of the auction floor and the best auctioneers are talented in the science of reading a crowd and individuals, playing them off of each other, and drawing larger bids for the items being auctioned. Thus, there is a need in the art for a technique to integrate remote auctioning systems into the real life environment of the auction floor. There is also a need in the art to allow the auctioneer to extend his or her talents beyond the auction floor and “work” the crowd of remote bidders as well as the local bidders. There is also a need in the art to integrate remote bidders into a live auction setting in a manner that does not alienate or result in giving an advantage to either the local bidders or remote bidders.